Sunday, 28 April 2013

Oban

A few years ago my sister and her husband decided to relocate to Oban on the West Coast of Scotland. I've had many visits to Scotland over the years but Oban wasn't a part of the country I knew so this seemed like a good opportunity to visit. My other sister Anne, our friend Ellie and I decided this would be a good opportunity for a holiday so we embarked on a road trip to drive up to see Sue. Now I don't think anyone would disagree with me when I say Scotland is a beautiful place but November is a really stupid time of year to visit. The rain was torrential and the non stop wind meant it was almost horizontal at the same time. I'm not sure I actually saw much of Oban in those few days simply because the weather made it impossible to see very far even if you did dare to venture outside. I seem to remember watching a lot of episodes of Scrubs though and the distillery tour was very enjoyable. I wanted to give Sue a Christmas card based on our holiday and as entirely grey Christmas cards are a bit boring, I ended up with this picture instead which is based on a photo I found on line. Personally, I remain to be convinced that Oban actually looks like this.

For my next visit, I decided to learn from my previous mistakes and made my way up on the night train one August. August has got to be better than November when it comes to weather right? And actually it was, it was a bit damp and drizzly at times but generally not too bad. Sue, by this point had moved out to Seil Island a few miles away from Oban. One day we went out on a sea safari which was a great trip and where this second picture comes from. The lighthouse is actually stuck on a boring bit of rock but I thought it would look nicer if I moved it to a different island so with a bit of artistic license and no consideration for passing ships, that's what I've done. Although Sue living this far away means we don't get to see her and Ian as often as we might like, it is a stunning place and I can see the attraction. Right now, I'm wondering when to arrange my next trip up there and even though it's not quite booked yet, I'm looking forward to it already.